‘The Odyssey’ Cast Answer The 50 Most Searched Questions

Who wrote The Odyssey?

[cast laughing]

Homer Simpson.

Hello, I'm Matt Damon. Hi, I'm Anne Hathaway.

I am Tom Holland. I'm Robert Pattinson.

And we are here to answer

the most searched questions about The Odyssey.

[Tom] Let's go.

[dial-up internet buzzing] [upbeat music]

How do you spell odyssey?

[cast laughing]

Which by the way--

It's very tough.

What a nightmare.

How long is Odysseus away from home?

20 years. 20 years.

[cast exclaiming] Oh!

How many men does Scylla kill?

Six. Six.

I just got to do this for my kids.

Six, seven.

Six, seven.

Is Calypso a monster?

No. I don't think so at all.

And particularly not the way she's portrayed in the film.

No.

Mmm. [cast laughing]

Anyway.

Okay. What is Scylla?

Scylla and Charybdis are the two,

Charybdis is the whirlpool

and Scylla is the six-headed snake monster

that comes down and takes six of my crewmates.

How did you shoot that again?

'Cause that to me is another part of the movie

that I don't understand how you did that.

We took the boat through that passageway

and Chris had on one side jet skis

doing donuts in the water,

this is true,

to really create a small whirlpool

that the visual effects could use the actual movement

of water as a guide.

George Cottle did six ratchets on that boat.

On the actual boat,

he rigged a ratchet system and pulled stunt guys

up out off the deck of the boat.

It was the most incredible thing.

He did six ratchets and he did it after lunch.

[cast laughing]

He did it all in an afternoon.

The great George Coddle, ladies and gentlemen.

Oh, George. George Coddle.

Did Athena love Odysseus romantically?

No, because she's married to me.

Yep. Good answer.

Was Odysseus faithful to Penelope?

That's something I've been really curious about.

Uh.

Ugh. Keep going.

Here's the thing.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

What's her name?

Charlize. [cast laughing]

Penelope did have a little bit

of an emotional affair as well.

You're really trying to make this work, bro.

You gotta watch the movie again.

Oh, you're such bad news.

You're such bad news.

How long does Odysseus stay with Calypso?

Seven years, but don't worry about it.

Nothing happened. It didn't mean anything.

It was one night

for seven years. For seven years.

How does Antinous treat Telemachus?

Terribly.

Absolutely terribly. Thank you.

I've been waiting for someone to say that.

He's really nice until, you know,

you just get too big for your boots.

You do horrible things to my dog.

No.

But that's not the question.

I didn't. I just lift him outside.

It wasn't very nice the way you lifted him.

I think the dog is a little bit worse to me than--

The dog was actually quite scary.

[cast laughing]

Why does Odysseus disguise himself as a beggar?

He's sneaking back into his homeland

and he can't reveal his identity yet.

And he's smart.

Why did Achilles fight for Agamemnon?

Ask Brad Pitt. [Anne laughing]

How tall are the Laestrygonians?

Pretty damn tall.

And the way we shot that was also amazing.

Everything in camera,

we had seven foot stuntmen

and a whole team of doubles

who were under five foot doubling all of us

and it was thrilling to watch those stunt performers work

and this whole idea of forced perspective to,

again, do as little CG as possible.

I also think that has to be one of the hardest

things to pronounce in all of this experience.

It's been coming up in interviews

and every time you say it, I'm like, Wow!

Why doesn't Antinous want to kill Telemachus?

'Cause he's a [beep] head.

We've been there already today.

Moving on swiftly.

What do the Sirens sing about?

Well, Chris wrote a beautiful monologue

that plays in voiceover

and Odysseus goes into detail

about what the song sounds like

and you can see that on IMAX on July 17th.

What is the main conflict in 'The Odyssey?'

Guys got to get home.

Guys got to get home. Yeah.

Who is Odysseus's best friend?

Well-- Argos.

Aw. Aw.

Aw. Well, Eurylochus is his number two in command,

but Eumaeus is known in literature

as the most loyal of characters,

though technically he's a slave,

so I would have to say Penelope is his best friend.

Oh.

Oh.

That's very sweet.

Why does Calypso keep Odysseus?

'Cause she fancies him.

Yeah, 'cause she loves him.

'Cause she's got taste.

[Anne laughing]

And Charlize is amazing in the movie.

Why does Circe turn Odysseus's men into pigs?

This is a sequence that is absolutely incredible

and terrifying and all done in camera.

We don't want to say too much about it,

but her rationale is that she fears for her safety

and that the men basically are already pigs.

She's just revealing who they truly are.

What does Athena teach Telemachus?

True love.

Yeah. [cast laughing]

Why doesn't Penelope remarry?

Love. Same answer, no?

Love, loyalty. Great taste.

Great take.

She's waiting for Telemachus to get older.

She's waiting for Telemachus to get older.

Got my eye on that one.

He needs to ripen a bit.

Ew!

Ew, ew.

All right, I'm aiming for the lens.

Oh! Oh!

How old is Telemachus in 'The Odyssey?'

16. I think.

I think he might be 18.

Because if I'm away 20 years--

Damn it, I played it like 16.

[cast laughing]

Fuck!

But if I left when you were two

and I come back 20 years later, are you 22?

That would be correct.

Yeah. [cast laughing]

It's very easy to figure this out.

Yeah.

Maybe 60. He's gone for 20 years.

Yeah, I don't know where I got that from.

I think you play him young

and you kind of age in the movies.

I have started sweating

'cause I think I realized a major flaw in my performance.

All right. Why does Poseidon curse Odysseus?

Well, that's because I, yeah, blind his son.

That answer's been around for 3,000 years, so all right.

Why does Agamemnon praise Penelope?

Because his wife killed him

and Penelope doesn't kill Odysseus.

[Robert laughing] I guess.

But then he wouldn't be able to praise her

'cause he would be dead.

He wasn't there.

Was Odysseus responsible for the Trojan horse?

Famously, yes. Yes.

Yes, yes, yes. I say yes too.

Why is Odysseus tied to the mast?

Because he's passing the Sirens.

And he wants to hear the sound of the sirens,

but doesn't wanna jump off the boat.

Love it.

I do remember something about that though.

That's an important part of the story.

No more brain. Fair, fair play.

No more brain. Baby ate brain.

What does Telemachus learn from Menelaus?

He learns that he needs to face the music.

And go back and claim the throne.

That's exactly what he learns.

Why does Odysseus visit at the underworld?

He's looking for directions.

She loves that.

Why does Athena choose Odysseus?

This is difficult in the context of our movie

without giving things away

because does Athena choose Odysseus

or does Odysseus choose Athena?

Spoiler alert.

I like that. That's all we can say.

Ooo, wow, that almost hit the director.

Sorry, guys. Sorry, guys.

Where was 'The Odyssey' filmed?

Where wasn't it filmed?

That's what I was going to say.

Let's do it fast. Greece.

Greece, Italy. Morocco.

Morocco. London.

Los Angeles. Los Angeles.

One person should talk.

Scotland.

I haven't said any.

I got 'em all. I got 'em all.

Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.

There! Ooo! Oh, you almost got us.

What is the contest of the bow?

Well, at the very end,

it's set up by Penelope to find a--

To get rid of your ass.

To kick your ass out of my castle.

When was 'The Odyssey' written?

I think 2700 BC.

I was just gonna say that.

Why does Antinous underestimate Odysseus?

'Cause he's a child.

Oh!

Is Circe a witch?

Yeah. No.

She's a goddess, right?

She is a demigoddess, yes.

Right.

Who's very witchy.

Witchy vibes.

We're alluding this. Yeah.

She's a witchy demigoddess.

There we go.

What creatures guard the underworld?

Well, the underworld is full of Shades

so I'm just going with that.

How does Penelope test Odysseus?

Ooo.

With the bow. With the bow that only he could string.

Is 'Odyssey' a sequel to 'Troy?'

The Odyssey is a sequel to The Iliad,

but Troy is based on The Iliad.

The Odyssey is based on The Odyssey.

How does Athena help Odysseus in 'The Odyssey?'

She gives some guidance.

What happens after the first Trojan?

What happens after the Trojan War?

The first Trojan.

We're not talking about Trojan War II.

Well, The Odyssey happens

because it's about the guys trying to get home.

Is Odysseus more of a warrior or a strategist?

Well, he's both,

but he's definitely known for his strategy.

His strategy.

Are the Sirens mermaids?

No, there's something far more dangerous.

Who are Penelope's suitors?

Is there really any other, other than Antinous?

Yeah.

Does Calypso love Odysseus?

She says that. I believe so.

Yes. Great taste.

What happens after Odysseus returns home?

We call that act three.

It's pretty good.

He puts his house in order. Is that a good way of saying it?

Yeah. Yeah.

All right.

Who does Odysseus meet in the underworld?

Well, in our film, not only Agamemnon, but but also Sinon.

And is it Tiresias? And Tiresias.

How does Telemachus change throughout 'The Odyssey?'

He grows up and becomes man.

I like it.

Why didn't Telemachus know his father?

Because his father was not home.

He was an absentee father.

Who are the gods that help or hinder Odysseus?

Well, there's Zeus, there's Poseidon, there's Athena,

to a degree Calypso.

Doesn't Zeus help you by, like, punishing you so badly

that you wash up on the shores of--

Yeah, makes a deal with Poseidon.

Right.

They take him basically to the limit,

but I'm under Zeus's protection.

Do Penelope and Antinous get together?

No. That's what she told me.

She promised me.

Why does Antinous want Odysseus dead?

I think it's very clear

that he would like my throne and my wife.

Yes.

Nice.

Why does Athena protect Penelope?

I think Penelope's very devoted to her

and I think Athena's a big fan of our family.

I think she knows that we practice Zeus's law

and that we're trying to do good

in a world that's complicated.

Is Odysseus a hero or an antihero?

I think we leave that one to the audience.

Nice.

That was a lot of questions.

Amazingly though, not a single question

the press has asked us for the last three days.

That's true.

They've all probably read it already.

Yeah, that's true. [cast laughing]

That was fun.

Thank you for your questions

and hopefully we'll see you at The Odyssey.

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